Colombia Excelso Medellín

Sticky and sweet, and perfectly balanced. Notes of gooseberry, wine gums and praline. 

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The farm

Sweet, but with balanced acidity as a medium-light roast, and punchy without being bitter; a lot of the flavour profiles that you’d hope for from Colombia, just without the same price tag.

This coffee comes from the Antioquia Department, just north of Medellín, and is grown by a large selection of smallholder farms throughout the area. Due to the scale of production, it’s a very consistent offering, specially selected to maintain the flavour profile one would expect - sweetness, a nice bit of upfront acidity, and some nutty qualities to help with milk-based drinks.

The varietals

The types used for this origin are very typical of Colombia as a whole. Due to a massive bout of coffee leaf rust in 2008-2009 which decimated the crop, there’s been a significant increase in the usage of more disease-resistant varietals such as Castillo, which was created by Colombia’s National Center for Coffee Investigation in 2005. It’s now the most planted varietal in Colombia, and produces short trees and large cherries.

There are also the classic Colombia, Caturra and Typica varietals, which have been grown in Colombia for decades - they all come together to create a very consistent and delicious profile, and a great starting point for anyone getting into speciality coffee.